


Late night thinker

by ChipsNsalsa



Category: Splatoon
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 22:31:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17754719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChipsNsalsa/pseuds/ChipsNsalsa
Summary: Marina stays up late to try and learn more of the inklings language but she spends most of the time lost in her thoughts.





	Late night thinker

Marina eyes are fried and her brain feels full but she still cannot make sense of the squiggles and lines in her notebook. Why did inklish have so many rules if they didn't even follow half of them? Why is there so many spelling variations of the same word? And why couldn't she just understand it? 

 

That was the worst aspect of it, in her opinion. She just didn’t get it. To go from being THE smartest person in the room to no one being unable to understand her or even be willing to take the time and effort to understand was a sting that never went away.

 

The frustration, anger and uselessness brought forth the familiar burn of tears when a not so quiet snore stole Marinas attention. Smiling fondly she pulled the blanket up where the feisty inkling had kicked it off. They had to share a bed because the hotel they were staying at had overbooked too many rooms. The DJ didn't mind sharing a sleep space, especially since it was so cold out. The look on the receptionist's face when Pearl threatened to buy the whole hotel was pretty funny. According to her the “oops we overbooked but I can set you up with a different room for 200 more” is a popular scam tatic some people try to do. Marina let her hand get tangled in the shorter girls tentacles.

 

Today had not been the duo's day. They have a few upcoming gigs in this area that pearl said could totally launch their success. The nerves from that was present but then their equipment was sent to the wrong city, and one of the gigs didn't list the right address which meant talking to a venue owner who so clueless that both of them are convinced she pays someone to remind her when to breathe. Having to deal with all of that led to pearl being in a rotten mood. So going to the hotel only for someone to try to scam them was,” the icing on a cake made of shit” as Pearl had put it.

 

Pearls face had a look that would have melted weaker beings and she was muttering words Marina had yet to learn. She let her gaze linger on her scowling face.

 

Pearl was one of the best things Marina had found on the surface (followed close by ice cream) and the source of her frustration is the inability to properly tell her how glad and thankful she feels about their chance meeting. That was a big barrier of the inkling language, there were so many words and phrases for things and feeling but they were all so… simple? A simple thanks did not convey all of the feelings she was experiencing and she did not have the knowledge she needed to express them. 

 

In octish there are different “levels” of phrases and feelings. At the bottom there are basic words and phrases that are used in everyday conversations while at the top there are words and phrases for specific people or situations.

 

Love is a very complex feeling and Marina feels that inklish leaves too many interpretations. If you would like to say you loved an object (for example ice cream) you would say you love it. If you wanted to tell someone (for example a little squid that is currently shaking the whole building with her snoring) you loved her you would say I love you. Those two things are not similar at all and yet the same word is used! And that is not even getting started on the disaster that is like liking someone!

 

Yawning loudly and removing her hand, Marina knows the first thing she needs to do is figure out her own feelings for her little rapstar. Heh what would her old superiors think if they saw her in bed with the enemy. The tired DJ gives her head a little shake to dispel that train of thought. She needs to save thinking of the past for later because right now her future is looking pretty fresh.

 

Marina gathers up her notebook and pens putting them on the nightstand before turning to pearl, giving her a little peck on the forehead. She shimmies into a comfortable position with her back to the inkling and waits for sleep to come.

 

Perhaps one day she would have the words she needed but for now she would never trade these late nights for anything.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic so criticism is greatly welcomed.


End file.
